Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools MIX - 5.1.1 Reference Guide
Pro Tools
Reference Guide
Version 5.3 for HD Systems on Macintosh or Windows
Version 5.1.1 for MIX or LE Systems on Macintosh or Windows
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Copyright
This guide is copyrighted ©2002 by Digidesign, a division of
Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights
reserved. Under copyright laws, this manual may not be
duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of
Digidesign.
DIGIDESIGN, AVID and PRO TOOLS are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Digidesign and/or Avid Technology,
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
All features and specifications subject to change without
notice.
PN 932709360-00 REV A 1/02
Contents
Part I Introduction
Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools
The Pro Tools Guides
Compatibility Information
Digidesign Registration
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Chapter 2. Pro Tools System Configurations
TDM-Equipped Systems
Pro Tools LE Systems
Chapter 3. Pro Tools Concepts
Hard Disk Audio Recording
The Digidesign Audio Engine
Pro Tools Sessions
System Resources
MIDI Concepts
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Chapter 4. Pro Tools Windows
The Mix Window
The Edit Window
The Transport Window
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Chapter 5. Keyboard Shortcuts
Global Key Commands
Keyboard Focus
Numeric Keypad Modes
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Contents
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Part II Sessions & Tracks
Chapter 6. Sessions
Starting Up Your System
Configuring Your System
Configuring a Pro Tools|HD System
Configuring Other Pro Tools Systems
Creating a New Session
Opening a Session
Saving a Session
Creating Custom Session Templates
Closing a Session
Quitting Pro Tools
Sharing Sessions Between Pro Tools TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE Systems
Chapter 7. I/O Setup
The I/O Setup Dialog
Routing Hardware I/O to Pro Tools I/O
Creating and Editing Paths
I/O Settings Files
Default Output, Meter, Audition, and Default Path Order I/O Setup Options
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Chapter 8. Tracks
Track Types
Creating Tracks
Hiding Tracks
Assigning Inputs and Outputs to Audio Tracks (and Other Tracks)
Assigning Voices and Track Priority
Setting MIDI Input and Output
Soloing and Muting Tracks
Making Tracks Inactive
Adjusting Track Width
Color Coding Tracks
Grouping Tracks
Pro Tools Reference Guide
iv
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Chapter 9. Importing and Exporting Audio and MIDI
Importing Audio
Importing Tracks from Other Sessions
Loading Audio Files with Drag & Drop
Exporting Audio
Transferring Audio from CD
Conversion Quality
Exporting Session Text
Importing MIDI Files
Exporting MIDI Files
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Chapter 10. File Management and Compatibility
Locating Audio Files
WAV File Compatibility
Avid File Compatibility
Creating Mac and PC Compatible Sessions
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Part III Recording
Chapter 11. Record Setup
Input Connections and Audio Levels
Record Enabling Tracks (Using the Record Enable Button)
Monitoring Modes
Monitoring Latency
Track Names
Disk Allocation
Allocating Hard Drive Space for Recording
Record Modes
Recording with the Click
Setting the Default Meter
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Chapter 12. Basic Audio Recording
Recording a Mono Audio Track
Recording a Stereo Audio Track
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Contents
v
Recording Multiple Audio Tracks
Record Pause Mode
Recording Additional Takes
Punch Recording Audio
Loop Recording Audio
Auditioning Record Takes
Setting Punch/Loop Points
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Chapter 13. MIDI Recording
Recording from MIDI Devices
Enabling Input Devices
MIDI Thru
MIDI Input Filter
Input Quantize
Wait for Note
MIDI Merge/Replace
Configuring MIDI Tracks for Recording
Recording to MIDI Tracks
Punch Recording MIDI
Loop Recording MIDI
Recording System Exclusive Data
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Chapter 14. Advanced Recording
QuickPunch Audio Recording
Recording from a Digital Source
Half-Speed Recording and Playback
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Part IV Editing
Chapter 15. Editing Basics
Pro Tools Editing
Track Material
Displaying Region Names and Times
Audio Regions and Waveforms
Pro Tools Reference Guide
vi
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MIDI Regions and MIDI Data
Playlists
Multiple Undo
The Audio and MIDI Regions Lists
Edit Modes
Zooming
The Universe Window
Timebase Rulers
Main Time Scale
Tick-Based Timing
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Chapter 16. Playing and Selecting Track Material
Playing Tracks
Scrolling Options
The Scrubber
Separate Edit and Timeline Selections
Selecting Track Material
Playing Selections
Timeline Selections
Playing Edit and Timeline Selections with the Playhead
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Chapter 17. Working with Regions and Selections
Creating New Regions
Healing a Separation
Placing Regions in Tracks
The Trimmer Tool
Sliding Regions
Nudging
Shift Command
Quantizing Regions
Locking Regions
Muting/Unmuting Regions
Edit Commands
Duplicate Command
Repeat Command
Merge Paste Command
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Contents
vii
Editing Stereo and Multichannel Tracks
Processing Audio with AudioSuite Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Waveform Repair with the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
The Smart Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Chapter 18. Advanced Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Replacing Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Repeat Paste To Fill Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Compress/Expand Edit To Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
The Time Trimmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Chapter 19. Fades and Crossfades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Using Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Creating a Crossfade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Creating Fades at the Beginnings and Ends of Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Using AutoFades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Creating Fades and Crossfades in Batches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Chapter 20. Managing Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Stripping Silence from Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Inserting Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Consolidate Selection Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Managing Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Compacting an Audio File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Chapter 21. Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Tempo Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Default Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Identify Beat Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Meter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Renumbering Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Memory Locations and Markers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Memory Locations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Chapter 22. Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Beat Detective Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Pro Tools Reference Guide
viii
About Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
The Beat Detective Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Defining the Selection for Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Detecting Transients with Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Generating Bar|Beat Markers with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Separating and Conforming Regions with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Beat Detective and Collection Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Part V MIDI Editing
Chapter 23. MIDI Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Inserting MIDI Notes with the Pencil Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Manually Editing MIDI Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Continuous Controller Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Program Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
System Exclusive Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Note and Controller Chasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Offsetting MIDI Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Chapter 24. MIDI Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
MIDI Operations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Select Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Quantize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Change Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Change Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Transpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Chapter 25. MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
The MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Inserting Events in the MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Editing in the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
MIDI Event List Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Contents ix
Part VI Mixing
Chapter 26. Basic Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Audio Signal Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Viewing I/O, Inserts, and Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Track Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Track Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Output Windows for Tracks and Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Submixing for Signal Routing and Effects Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Mixing Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Using a Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Chapter 27. Plug-In and Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Inserting Plug-Ins on Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
The Plug-In Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Hardware I/O Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Connecting and Integrating External Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Chapter 28. Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Automation Quick Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Automation Playlists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Automation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Automation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Viewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Writing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Enabling and Suspending Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Deleting Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Thinning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Drawing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Editing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Writing Automation to the Start, End or All of a Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Trimming Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Creating Snapshot Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Pro Tools Reference Guidex
Chapter 29. Mixdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Recording to Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Bounce to Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Bounce Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Recording a Submix (with Bounce To Disk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Final Mixdown (with Bounce To Disk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Mastering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Part VII Surround
Chapter 30. Surround Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
Mixing Formats and Surround Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
Pro Tools Mixing Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Speaker Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Surround Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Formats and Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Surround Mixing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Chapter 31. Pro Tools Setup for Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Pro Tools Audio Connections for 5.1 Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Configuring Pro Tools for Multichannel Sessions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Default Selectors in I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Chapter 32. Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Multichannel QuickStart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Multichannel Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Multichannel Signal Routing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Paths in Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Example Paths and Signal Routing for a Surround Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Chapter 33. Surround Panning and Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Introduction to Pro Tools Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Output Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
Contents xi
Standard Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Surround Panner Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Panning Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
LFE Faders in Multichannel Panners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
Divergence and Center Percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
SurroundScope Metering Plug-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Part VIII Synchronization
Chapter 34. Synchronization Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Synchronization Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Aspects of Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Synchronizing Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
SMPTE Frame Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Working with Film-Originated Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
Chapter 35. Time Code Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Pro Tools Synchronization Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Hardware Setup Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
Preparing to Work with SMPTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Configuring Pro Tools for SMPTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Putting Pro Tools Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Generating Time Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Synchronizing a Sequencer to Pro Tools on the Macintosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Synchronizing a Sequencer to Pro Tools in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
Using MIDI Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Remote Track Arming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
Setting Minimum Sync Delay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
Synchronizing Pro Tools to an OMS-Compatible Sequencer Using MMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
MIDI Beat Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Spotting Regions to SMPTE Frame Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
Identifying a Synchronization Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Pro Tools Reference Guidexii
Troubleshooting Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Chapter 36. Working with QuickTime Movies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
About QuickTime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
QuickTime Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Movie Playback Quality Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Importing a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502
Setting the Movie Start Time (Movie Offset) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
Spotting Audio to a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Importing QuickTime Audio (and Other Compressed Video Files) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Bouncing to a New Movie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
Appendix A. DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing (TDM Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
Delay Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
Compensating for Delays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Appendix B. TDM Mixing and DSP Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
Understand the Benefits of TDM II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
DSP Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
DSP Usage with TDM Mixers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
DSP Usage with TDM Plug-Ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
DSP Usage and I/O Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
Appendix C. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
Backing Up Your Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
Common Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
Using DigiTest as a Diagnostic Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
Performance Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Before You Call Digidesign Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Contents xiii
Pro Tools Reference Guidexiv
Part I: Introduction
1
2
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools
Welcome to Pro Tools®. Pro Tools integrates
powerful multitrack digital audio and MIDI sequencing features, giving you everything you
need to record, arrange, edit, mix, and master
quality audio for music, video, film, and multimedia.
The Pro Tools Guides
Your Pro Tools System includes the following
guides:
Getting Started Guide Instructions for installing
your Pro Tools system and connecting your studio.
Pro Tools Reference Guide Provides full details
on all Pro Tools functionality and operations.
(Pro Tools LE systems only include an electronic
PDF file version of the Reference Guide.)
Pro Tools Menus Guide Electronic PDF guide to
the Pro Tools on-screen menus.
DigiRack™ Plug-Ins Guide Instructions for using
the DigiRack plug-ins (included with Pro Tools)
for both real-time and file-based audio processing in Pro Tools. (Pro Tools LE systems only include an electronic PDF version of this guide.)
Pro Tools MIDI Control Surfaces Guide Electronic PDF guide that includes instructions for
operating Pro Tools with various MIDI control
surfaces.
Expanded Systems Guide (TDM Systems
Only) Instructions for expanding a Pro Tools
TDM system with optional Digidesign cards, or
an expansion chassis.
Pro Tools MachineControl Guide (TDM Systems
Only) Instructions for using MachineControl
software for Pro Tools to enable serial communication with remote audio and video machines.
Keyboard Shortcut Cards Separate cards for Macintosh and Windows that list the many keyboard shortcuts not shown in the Pro Tools
menus. (Pro Tools LE systems only include an
electronic PDF version of the Keyboard Shortcut
cards.)
Digidesign also provides guides with TDM
audio interfaces, optional dedicated controllers (such as Control|24 and ProControl) and other Digidesign options, (such as
SYNC I/O). Refer to the package shipped
with your Digidesign product.
Digidesign Plug-Ins Guide Electronic PDF guide
with instructions for using optional Digidesign
plug-ins for both real-time and file-based audio
processing in Pro Tools.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 3
Conventions Used in These Guides
Choose and Select
The Pro Tools guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands:
:
Convention Action
File > Save Session Choose Save Session
from the File menu
Control+N Hold down the Control
key and press the N key
Option-click Hold down the Option key
and click the mouse button
Right-click (Windows) Click with the right
mouse button
The following symbols are used to highlight important information:
User Tips are helpful hints for getting the
most from your Pro Tools system.
Important Notices include information that
could affect your Pro Tools session data or
the performance of your Pro Tools system.
The words “choose” and “select” are often interchangeable in conversational english. In this
guide, however, there is a distinction between
the two terms.
Select When the guide instructs you to select
something, it stays selected. This is the case with
dialog box options and menu items that enable
or disable an option.
Choose When the guide instructs you to choose
something, a one-time action is performed. This
is the case with most menu commands; they
perform their chosen action only once.
Compatibility Information
Digidesign can only assure compatibility and
provide support for hardware and software it
has tested and approved. For a list of Digidesignqualified computers, operating systems, and
third-party devices, refer to the latest compatibility information on the Digidesign Web site:
www.digidesign.com/compato/
Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or
mouse shortcuts.
Cross References point to related sections in
the Pro Tools Guides.
Pro Tools Reference Guide4
Digidesign Registration
Please make sure to register! Registered users are
entitled to up to one year of free technical support based on the product purchased. For more
information please refer to your registration
card, or visit the Digidesign Web site:
www.digidesign.com/support
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System
Configurations
TDM-Equipped Systems
Pro Tools TDM-equipped systems are available
in the following configurations. Each system requires at least one Digidesign audio interface
(sold separately). TDM systems can be expanded
by adding Digidesign cards to increase track
count, add to the amount of possible plug-in
and mixer processing, and connect additional
audio interfaces.
Pro Tools system performance depends on
factors such as computer processor speed,
amount of system memory, and hard drive
performance. Contact your Digidesign
dealer or visit Digidesign’s Web site for the
latest system requirements and compatibility information.
HD-Series Systems
Pro Tools|HD 1
Includes:
• HD Core card
• Pro Tools software
Pro Tools|HD 2
Includes:
• HD Core card
• HD Process card
• Pro Tools software
Pro Tools|HD 3
Includes:
• HD Core card
• Two HD Process cards
• Pro Tools software
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 5
MIX-Series Systems
Supported Audio Interfaces
Pro Tools|24 MIX
Includes:
• MIX Core card
• Pro Tools software
Pro Tools|24 MIXplus
Includes:
• MIX Core card
• MIX Farm card
• Pro Tools software
Pro Tools|MIX
3
Includes:
• MIX Core card
• Two Mix Farm cards
• Pro Tools software
Pro Tools|24
Includes:
• d24 Audio card
• DSP Farm card
• Pro Tools software
HD-Series Only
The following audio interfaces are compatible
with Pro Tools HD-series systems:
◆ 192 I/O
◆ 96 I/O
HD-series systems require the use of at
least one 192 I/O or 96 I/O.
HD-Series, MIX-Series and Pro Tools|24
The following audio interfaces work with different TDM systems, as noted.
Audio interfaces that work with HD-series systems require the use of at least one
192 I/O or 96 I/O.
The following Digidesign audio interfaces are
supported with Pro Tools HD-series, Pro Tools
MIX-series and Pro Tools|24 systems:
◆ 888|24 I/O and 882|20 I/O
◆ 1622 I/O
◆ 24-bit ADAT Bridge I/O or original ADAT
Bridge I/O
The original 888 I/O and 882 I/O audio interfaces work with Pro Tools MIX-series and Pro
Tools|24 systems only.
Pro Tools Reference Guide6
TDM System Playback, Recording and Voice Limits
The following table lists the audio playback, recording, and voiceable track limits of each type of
Pro Tools TDM system. Playback and recording voices refer to the number of unique simultaneous
playback and record tracks on your system. Total voiceable tracks (previously known as virtual voicing) refers to the maximum number of audio tracks that can share the available voices on your system. Voice limits are dependant on the session sample rate, and the number of DSP chips dedicated
to the system’s Playback Engine. Pro Tools HD-series systems can open sessions with up to 256 audio
tracks (and MIX-series systems can open sessions with up to 128 audio tracks), but any audio tracks
beyond that system’s voiceable track limit will be automatically set to Voice Off.
All TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems provide a total of 64 internal mix busses. All TDM systems also
provide 5 inserts and 5 sends per track, up to the DSP capacity of your system.
Table 1. Pro Tools HD-series, MIX-series and Pro Tools|24 system audio playback, recording and voice limits
Core System Type
Pro Tools|HD 1 44.1/48 96 96 112
Expanded Pro Tools|HD 1,
Pro Tools|HD 2,
Pro Tools|HD 3
Pro Tools|24 MIX 44.1/48 32, or 64 32, or 64 43, or 86
Pro Tools|24 MIXplus,
Pro Tools|24 MIX
Pro Tools|24 44.1/48 32 32 43
Expanded Pro Tools|24 44.1/48 64 64 86
3
Sample Rate
(kHz)
88.2/96 48 48 48
176.4/192 12 12 12
44.1/48 128 128 224
88.2/96 64 64 80
176.4/192 24 24 24
44.1/48 64 64 86
Voices (Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous Playback)
Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous
Recording
Total Voiceable
Tracks
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 7
Audio Interfaces for TDM Systems
The following table lists the input and output capabilities of the various audio interfaces for TDMequipped Pro Tools systems. In expanded HD systems, audio interfaces can be combined for up to 96
audio inputs and outputs. In expanded MIX systems, audio interfaces can be combined for up to 72
audio inputs and outputs.
Table 2. Pro Tools TDM system audio interface channel capabilities
Interface Type
192 I/O 16 in/16 out 44.1, 48, 88.2,
96 I/O 16 in/16 out 44.1, 48, 88.2, 9624-bit 24-bit 24-bit
888|24 I/O 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48 24-bit 24-bit (or
882|20 I/O 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48 20-bit 20-bit 24-bit
1622 I/O 16 in/2 out 44.1, 48 20-bit 24-bit 24-bit
24-bit ADAT
Bridge I/O,
ADAT Bridge I/O
888 I/O 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48 18-bit (or
882 I/O 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48 16-bit 16-bit 24-bit
Number of I/O
Channels
16 in/16 out 44.1, 48 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
Sample Rates
(k Hz)
96, 176.4, 192
A/D
Conversion
24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
older 16-bit)
D/A
Conversion
older 20-bit)
18-bit 24-bit
Digi ToolBox XP
Pro Tools LE Systems
Pro Tools LE-based systems are available in the
following configurations:
Digi 001
A Digi 001 system includes:
• Digi 001 PCI card
• Digi 001 I/O box
• Pro Tools LE software
A Digi ToolBox system includes:
• Audiomedia III card
• Pro Tools LE software
The total processing capacity of a
Pro Tools LE-based system depends on the
processing power of your computer. Contact
your Digidesign dealer or visit Digidesign’s
Web site for the latest system requirements
and compatibility information.
Digital I/O
24-bit
Pro Tools Reference Guide8
Pro Tools LE System Capabilities
The following table lists the playback, recording, and input and output capabilities of each Pro Tools
LE-based system. All Pro Tools LE systems are limited to 24 mono audio tracks. If you open a
Pro Tools session created on a TDM system containing more than 24 mono audio tracks on an LEbased system, only the audio tracks assigned to the first 24 voices will open; if you save the session using Pro Tools LE, any audio tracks beyond the available 24 voices will be lost.
All Pro Tools LE systems provide a total of 16 internal mix busses. Pro Tools LE also provides up to 5
inserts and 5 sends per track, depending on your computer’s processing capacity.
Table 3. Pro Tools LE system audio playback, recording, and channel capabilities
Mono Tracks of
System Type
Digi 001 24 up to 18 in/18 out 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
Audiomedia III 24 up to 4 in/4 out 18-bit 18-bit 24-bit
Simultaneous
Playback
Number of
Simultaneous
Recording Channels
A/D
Conversion
D/A
Conversion
Digital
I/O
For details on transferring session material between Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools TDM systems, see
“Sharing Sessions Between Pro Tools TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE Systems” on page 50.
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 9
Pro Tools Reference Guide10
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts
Pro Tools is based on simple concepts which are
easy to grasp. Many of them you may already be
familiar with. This chapter explains the principals and concepts that form the foundation of
Pro Tools operation and functionality.
Hard Disk Audio Recording
Tape-based recording is a linear medium—you
need to rewind or fast forward a tape to hear a
particular spot in a recording. To rearrange or repeat material in a linear system, you need to rerecord it.
Hard disk recording is a non-linear (or random
access) medium—you can go immediately to
any spot in a recording without having to rewind or fast forward.
Non-linear systems have several advantages.
You can easily rearrange or repeat parts of a recording by making the hard disk read parts of
the recording in a different order and/or multiple times. In addition, this re-arrangement is
non-destructive, meaning that the original recorded material is not altered.
The Digidesign Audio Engine
When you start Pro Tools, the Digidesign Audio
Engine, called DAE, automatically launches in
the background. DAE is Digidesign’s real-time
operating system for digital recording systems.
When you install Pro Tools, DAE is automatically installed on your system (and can be accessed from within Pro Tools).
In the same way that a computer’s operating
system provides the foundation for programs
that run on the computer, DAE provides much
of the hard disk recording, digital signal processing, mix automation, and MIDI functionality required by Pro Tools and other products from
Digidesign and its Development Partners.
The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the
amount of memory allocated within DAE to
manage disk buffers, which affects system performance. For more information, see “DAE Playback Buffer Size” on page 37. The DAE Playback
Buffer Size can be changed in the Playback Engine Dialog, discussed below.
Pro Tools is a non-linear recording system that
lets you rearrange and mix recorded material
non-destructively.
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 11
Playback Engine Dialog
Pro Tools takes advantage of your computer’s
host processor for certain tasks and optional
host-based DSP processing.
Pro Tools LE uses host (CPU) processing to provide audio track recording, playback, mixing,
and effects processing. Pro Tools TDM can also
use host processing to run RTAS plug-ins for effects processing. Performance is determined by
your system and its Playback Engine settings.
Pro Tools Sessions
When you start a project in Pro Tools, you create a session. Some basic elements of sessions are
explained in this section.
Session File
The Playback Engine dialog lets you set a hardware buffer size and allocate a percentage of
CPU resources for these tasks. For more information, see “Configuring Your System” on page 35.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools TDM system
The Playback Engine dialog is also where you select the number of voices (and voiceable tracks)
for your system and its sessions. Voice count
choices in the dialog are based on how much
DSP processing you wish to allocate for voicing.
For more information, see “Configuring Your
System” on page 35.
See also “System Resources” on page 16.
Pro Tools session file icon
A session file is the document that Pro Tools cre-
ates when you start a new project. The session
file contains maps of all elements associated
with a project, including audio files, MIDI data,
and all your edit and mix information. You can
make changes to a session and save those
changes in a new session file. This lets you create multiple versions of a project or back up
your editing and mixing work.
Audio File
When you record audio into a Pro Tools session,
audio files are created.
Audio file icon
Audio files for each session are stored in a folder
named “Audio Files.” Audio files are listed in the
Audio Regions List and can appear in a track. A
section of an audio file can be defined as a region. See “Regions (or Loops)” on page 13.
Pro Tools Reference Guide12
Tracks
Pro Tools tracks are where audio, MIDI, and automation data are recorded and edited.
Audio tracks in the Edit window
MIDI track in the Edit window
Audio and MIDI tracks can be edited into regions or repeated in different locations, to create
loops, re-arrange sections or entire songs, or to
assemble tracks using material from multiple
takes.
Audio tracks can be mono, stereo, or any supported multichannel format (depending on
your type of Pro Tools system). When creating a
new audio track, you can choose from a list of
formats supported by your system.
Regions (or Loops)
Playlist
Playlist Selector pop-up menu
A playlist is a group of regions arranged on an
audio or MIDI track. Tracks have edit playlists
and automation playlists.
You can create any number of edit playlists for a
track. This lets you assemble different versions
of performances or edits on a single audio or
MIDI track and choose among them with a popup menu on the track.
On audio tracks, an edit playlist tells the hard
disk which audio files to read in what order. For
example, you can use the same audio region to
access the same piece of audio multiple times at
different locations and not use additional disk
space. If desired, different versions of the same
original audio can be created to modify the
length, fade-in, fade-out, and effects applied.
A playlist can be made up of a single region or
many separate regions. It can be made up of
similar elements, such as regions from several
different takes of a solo, or dissimilar elements,
such as several sound effects.
Audio region
A region (or loop) is a piece of audio or MIDI data
that may have associated automation data. A region could be a loop, a guitar riff, a verse of a
song, a sound effect, a piece of dialog, or an entire sound file. In Pro Tools, regions are created
from audio or MIDI files, and can be arranged in
audio and MIDI track playlists.
Each track has a single set of automation playlists, according to the type of track and any send
or plug-in assignments.
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 13
Figure 1. Rear view of 192 I/O, 16 channels of input and output
Channel
The term channel is used to describe several related components of a Pro Tools system. The
first example of channel refers to a physical input or output of your Pro Tools system.
For example, a 192 I/O audio interface (Figure 1)
provides up to 16 channels of input and output
to an HD-series TDM-equipped system. An
888|24 I/O audio interface provides eight channels of analog input and output to a TDMequipped system.
The second use of the term channel refers to a
mixer strip in the Pro Tools Mix window. The
term channel strip refers to the mixer strip of any
track (audio or MIDI track, Auxiliary Input, or
Master Fader) in a session.
Audio and MIDI channel strips have similar
controls, but those controls have slightly different effects. For example, audio and Auxiliary Input channel strip faders control the Pro Tools
mixer, while MIDI channel strip faders send
MIDI volume data (MIDI controller 7).
The term channel also describes a separate
aspect of MIDI operation. See “MIDI Concepts” on page 18.
Channel strip in the Mix window
Pro Tools Reference Guide14
Signal Routing
Signal routing options include the following:
Pro Tools provides software-based mixing and
signal routing controls. The Mix window is
where these controls are located. (Some of these
controls can also be accessed from the Edit window, if desired.)
Signal Routing Example
A common signal routing task is to submix multiple tracks to a single channel strip for shared
processing and level control. The following example shows three audio tracks submixed to a
stereo Auxiliary Input.
Stereo
plug-in
Input from
Outputs to
Stereo Bus
path
Stereo
Bus path
Output to
Stereo Output
path
Track I/O Controls The most basic type of signal
routing is track input and output. A track needs
to have an assigned input path to record audio,
and an assigned output path in order to be audible through a hardware output. Signals can also
be routed to or from other tracks in Pro Tools (or
hardware inputs and outputs) using internal
busses.
Auxiliary Inputs and Master Faders Auxiliary Inputs are tracks that can be used as returns, submixers and bus masters. Master Faders are used
as bus and output master level controls. Both
Auxiliary Inputs and Master Faders can have inserts or plug-ins.
Sends Sends route audio to internal busses to
send to other tracks in Pro Tools, or to hardware
outputs.
Plug-Ins and Inserts Software plug-ins and hardware inserts process the audio on their associated track. Plug-in processing occurs completely
within Pro Tools. Hardware inserts utilize audio
interface inputs and outputs, for traditional insert routing to (and from) external effects and
other devices.
Audio Tracks
Submixing to an Auxiliary Input
Auxiliary Input
Paths Pro Tools lets you define a group of multiple inputs, outputs, or busses that have a single
name and (channel) format. These groups comprise the lists of available routing choices in
track I/O Selectors and other menus. Paths can
be very useful for assigning stereo and multichannel I/O routing or sub-paths within a path.
See Chapter 7, “I/O Setup” for more information.
Mixing Formats Sessions can include combinations of mono, stereo, and multichannel format
tracks, busses, inputs, outputs, and inserts.
(Multichannel formats are supported on
Pro Tools HD-series and MIX-series only.)
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 15
System Resources
Track count, plug-in processing, signal path and
routing options, and voice availability are ultimately limited by the combined resources available from the host computer, and from your
Pro Tools hardware.
Pro Tools provides several ways to manage and
conserve resources to maximize the performance of your system. As you begin working
with Pro Tools sessions and tracks, you can take
advantage of the following features to extend
the effectiveness of your available DSP and
other resources:
◆ System usage settings (such as CPU Usage and
H/W Buffer Size) let you balance the distribution of work between your computer and any
Digidesign audio hardware. See “Configuring
Your System” on page 35.
◆ Active and inactive switching lets you selec-
tively toggle items (such as tracks and inserts)
between active (on) and inactive (off). This lets
you precisely allocate DSP and other resources
when developing playlists, tracks, and mixes.
See “Active and Inactive Items” on page 16.
◆ TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems provide
flexible voice options for disk tracks. For more
information on voice management and options,
see “Voiceable Tracks and Track Priority” on
page 87.
Active and Inactive Items
Pro Tools lets you set certain items (such as audio tracks) as inactive, in order to free up DSP resources and mixer connections.
Items in Pro Tools that can be made inactive (or
active) include the following.
◆ Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master
Faders (TDM systems only)
◆ Track Inputs and Outputs
◆ Sends
◆ Side-chain inputs
◆ Plug-ins
◆ Hardware Inserts
◆ Paths (session-wide)
MIDI tracks cannot be made inactive.
In addition to manually setting Active and Inactive modes, Pro Tools will automatically make
items inactive if there are insufficient or unavailable resources.
When active, items are fully engaged and operational.
When inactive, items are silent and off. Different
inactive items affect available system resources
in specific ways, as follows:
Plug-Ins When a plug-in is inactive on a track, its
DSP is made available for other plug-ins and
processing. Plug-in assignments can be made inactive manually, or automatically (see “Automatic and Manual Inactive Mode” on page 17).
Paths and Path Assignments When a path or
path assignment is inactive, its mixer resources
are made available for other signal routing purposes in the session. Paths and assignments can
be made inactive manually, or automatically
(see “Automatic and Manual Inactive Mode” on
page 17).
Pro Tools Reference Guide16
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